Amid the spiraling row over the gruesome sexual assault and murder of the on-duty 31-year-old junior doctor in Kolkata's state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, women across Bengal and several other states in the country are hitting the streets from Wednesday night as a symbol of protest against the brutal incident.
Shaken by the revelation of harrowing details of the incident, thousands of doctors across the country initiated demonstrations and ceased work at several medical colleges and hospitals across the country.
'Reclaim The Night': About tonight's protest
On the eve of the 78th Independence Day, the protest is slated to begin from around 11 PM at several places across the state and beyond seeking women's security and liberty as the primary objective of the protest is "For women's independence on the midnight of independence".
Social media so far has been inundated with thousands of posters mentioning venues and timings of the protest. Besides Bengal, several protests are scheduled to take place in Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru as well.
As per local reports, researcher Rimjhim Sinha was the first to give a call for the 'reclaim the night' protest in view of the latest tragic incident.
In a Facebook post, she had written, "I have heard that Principal of RG Kar has said the doctor should not have wandered alone at night. I will be outside at 11.55 pm for my freedom. I will do what I want. I am not ready to listen to 'night is not safe for women', 'the dress is not safe' and 'the women does not have a good character'. I will spend the night outdoors."
In view of the overnight protest, Kolkata Metro has made available additional trains upon requests from several quarters. Furthermore, Kolkata Bus-o-pedia too has announced free bus service for women tonight across several routes in the city.
Reclaim The Night Protests: A Lookback
Historically, the first-ever 'Take Back the Night rally' dates back to 1975 in the United States' Philadelphia following the tragic death of Susan Alexander Speeth, a Microbiologist, who was stabbed to death when she was walking home at night.
Two years later, a similar protest march was organized in Germany as a symbol of protest against violence against women followed by another round of similar protests in 1977, women in Leeds took out a rally to protest against women being instructed to stay indoors after dark.
